Vehicles, such as automobiles, may have varying performance goals based on different potential impact modes. For example, the stiffness at the front end of a vehicle may be relatively high for the purposes of managing relatively high impact forces, e.g. from a high speed impact with another vehicle, while that stiffness may exceed design thresholds for other impact modes, e.g. a collision with a pedestrian. It is currently difficult to provide overall vehicle stiffness together with selective accommodation for lower stiffness thresholds for, e.g., pedestrian protection, all within current vehicle architectures and styles, e.g., such as low-slung and shorter overhang front end. Furthermore, plastic and/or composite parts designed for pedestrian leg impact protection may have undesirable manufacturing and/or material process control variations.